Here we have Sangre Cavallum's newest full length, released again on the prolific Ahnstern label. They seem to have found a good home there, on a label with a wide variety of artists from different countries and singing in different languages. Recent additions to this label include Svarrogh and Zlye Kukly, which are both very well received. Sangre Cavallum, are from Portugal, and are very cocnerned with keeping their Galician identity, and preserved the music. Like their website states, it are 'old and new songs for the land of our birth.' Tracks 1, 4, 7 and 9 are traditional pieces of music, and the 13th track belongs to King Afonso X.
With this album, Sangre Cavallum continues their musical journey. They are still only using their mothertongue in the lyrics, and still a wide variety of instruments. This wide variety combined with very different songstructures and songbuilding results in a very different album. While it's a bit less hypnotic and relaxed than Pátria Granítica, it still very enjoyable indeed, even if you don't have a single clue what they are singing about really. Luckily, the booklet holds some information about the concept of this album. Veleno De Teixo means 'Yew Poison'. This album is a tribute to the ritual death of Callaccian woman in the Iron Age. Rather than being enslaved and living a life of disgrace and misery, these woman took their own and their childrens lives. By the sword, by fire, or by poison from the yew tree. Sangre Cavallum ends by saying that they whorship this tree, the tree of knowledge, the tree of life.
The sixteen track combined last for just over an hour. Some tracks sound as if they are two different tracks combined, making it a bit hard to guess where you are in the tracklist while listening. The album comes in a six panel digipack, with on the left inside panel an awesome picture of the instruments they've used. On the pictures with bandmembers, they are of course wearing their well known wooden masks. Inside the digipack is a sixteen page booklet, filled with beautiful pictures. Everything is presented in a darkorange/woodbrown colorscheme.
This release comes as standalone, as well as combined with a 2CD release called Troadouro, which serves a retrospect on ten years of Sangre Cavallum. This combined package comes in a wooden box, and it also includes a handmade wooden mask, just like the bandmembers are wearing. A must have for the fan. All in all, this release is really worthwhile. I assume it's especially fullfilling if you are able to understand the lyrics. I wouldn't mind seeing the lyrics online somewhere, with translations. Or in the booklet, for that matter. Perhaps in the future.